Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I am usually not a fan of fruit desserts. I mean, what is a dessert without chocolate? Fruit is healthy, not dessert. Which by definition, should be yummy, bad for me, and chocolate. Well...I have found two exceptions to this rule. The first is Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings. We have made them twice -- and they are divine. Be sure to make them with low fat crescent rolls. It'll balance out all that butter.

On Memorial Day, I dug deep to find my inner Martha Stewart. And I made strawberry shortcake. From scratch. Not from bisquick. Or those disgusting sponge cakes with a dent in the middle. I made these babies from scratch. With strawberries we picked ourselves. It was a domestic diva moment.

Let me share my genius before she gets locked back up again.

Here are all the ingredients. Not much is called for. And notice...there is no 2lt. of Coke Zero in this picture. A grand tradition has come to an end.

Combine the dry ingredients

And then add slices of cold butter.

You are supposed to use a pastry blender to combine the butter. But because I am not Martha Stewart...I do not own such apparatus. I just used two knives. Just make it so it looks crumbly.

Then add the wet ingredients and just blend together.

Knead the dough and form it into a circle. It is supposed to be about an inch thick. And 7 inches around. I don't think I accomplished either...and it still turned out fabulous.

Next, you are supposed to use a 3" cookie cutter. Who do I look like? Martha Stewart? I don't own a cookie cutter. Because that might mean I was crafty. Or Martha. Which I am not. So, I improvised with one of my glasses. (I love footed glasses. Aren't they pretty? Southern Living at Home. Sorry...I digressed...) It worked just fine.

It made 8 scones - just like the recipe said it would. Plus one mutant one. The mutant one is the reward that you keep to yourself and scarf down right after cooking. Don't let anyone see the mutant one or they might want one, too.

Next, you make an egg "wash" to brush over your scones. Ummm...I also don't own a pastry brush. And I couldn't find the one we have used for BBQ sauce. I might have thrown it away when we moved. So...I used my pretty Pampered Chef scraper. It worked just fine. See you don't have to be Martha to bake from scratch. It's a good thing.

And here they are fresh from the oven. Yum.

Now, go eat that mutant one before anyone sees...

Oh...and the strawberries. Okay, here some major improvising took place. The recipe called for 2 pounds of strawberries. Well...we were using ones we picked at the strawberry fields. I have no idea how much I have. They are not in those convenient, labeled 1 pound containers. I think I used closer to three pounds. I took about a third of them...washed and hulled...and then, get this...mash them up. Let those juices flow. I forgot to take a picture of this part. Use your imagination.

Then I took the rest of the strawberries...I am guessing about 2 pounds. But it's a guess. Washed and hulled them. Sliced some...too lazy to slice all of them. And then poured them on top of my smooshed strawberries, and then added about 1/4 of a cup of sugar. You need less sugar if they are really sweet...probably more (1/3 cup) if they are from the grocery store.

To serve...most recipes have you split the scone, add strawberries, put the "lid" on, add whipped cream and more berries. But...I am not a fan of whipped cream. However, ice cream is where it's at! And this recipe is hereby crowned divine:

Here is the simple recipe:

2 cups white flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1/3 cup cold butter

1 large egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Slice the butter into thin pats and add to above. Blend with a pastry blender or two knives. It should look like course crumbs.

Whisk together the egg, cream, and vanilla and add it to the flour mixture until it just comes together. Do not over mix.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead about 4 or 5 times. Pat into a circle (about 7 inches in diameter and about an inch thick). With a 3" cookie cutter, cut out 8 rounds and put on your cookie sheet.

Next make an egg wash. Ingredients: one egg, beaten, and one tablespoon of cream. Brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes - or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Filling:

2-3 pounds of strawberries

1/4 - 1/3 cup of sugar

Wash, hull, and slice berries.

Put about 1/3 of the berries in a large bowl and mash with a fork. (Or if you are Martha, a potato masher)

Then add the remaining berries and sugar.

Set aside (at room temperature) for about 30 minutes to an hour.

To serve, slice the scones in half. On the bottom half, spread some strawberry mixture, top with ice cream or whipped cream. Put the top of the scone on...add a little more ice cream/whipped cream. Drizzle with more strawberries. Delish, delish, delish!

68 comments:

OH!!! YUm Yum YUm!!!! I want to be your neighbor!!!! The two knife effect is what my totally awesome cook Grammy always used. Your shortcake looks like scones. Mmmmmm. Because I'm lazy ... my version of strawberry shortcake = the wonderfully moist lemon bundt cake from Costco topped with oodles of berries. Also yummy, but not so domestically diva-ish as yours. :-D

I was thinking today what to make for our first neighborhood bible study tonight and thought of Strawberry Shortcake but I thought-too much work. I was so wrong, for now we will have Oreo cheesecakes and cherry cheesecakes.Have a great day....

Seriously?? You have an inner Martha Stewart? I'm still looking for mine... not really, I gave up a long time ago. The pics look good. That's as close as I'll ever get - unless you want to make me some :)

And BTW, I never mind girls oggling my sexy hubby... I mean, he's mine, and he's hot, so you can look if you want :)

This does look great. I was surprised with this post I thought you jut had your daughter cook! hahaha You always have pics with her being your model. Just kidding. I love reading your weekly menus. My fav part are the Fend for yourself and eat out somewhere. But this looks jut yummy

Lula--So do you think that Heather's dog will forever be known as Elton? No matter what she names him? Yep...think so. Could you imagine the antics if we all lived on the same street?

Any improvements to your eyes today?

Mrs. R--ummm...strawberry daquiris? Cosmos? White Russian? All of the above? Come on over...the more the merrier!

Stephanie--I have a wannabe Martha...but usually I keep her locked up because she just mocks me. :-) I'll be back to your blog for sure!

Joye--I have done one other post where I cooked. Cannot recall what it was though. Cooking is something that I really like to do...but usually not from scratch like this. I have to blog about Katie cooking when she decides to help...

Oh, that just looks yummy! I am totally loving your recipes. I have always collected cookbooks from my travels over the years. Not for cooking, just for the pretty pictures. (hehe) So I can now add your photos to my collection of "Oh, wouldn't that be nice if I made it?" Actually, my man is the cook. I got it good.

Yummy! (But I am in complete agreement that a dessert should be chocolate.) So funny that you should mention the apple dumplings from Pioneer Woman Cooks because I just found that recipe the other day and have been drooling about it ever since. I'm going to make them for sure now.

Debbie--everytime I come over here, I have to look at the pictures. I need to make it again. It was that yummy. And really was easy. Really.

DQ--You'll have to post about it...or at least let me know if you try it. I always wonder if anyone actually makes the recipes I post.

Rhea--Well...I don't profess to be domestic. One must improvise :-) And I do not have a subscription to SL. I used to be a PA to someone who was regularly featured in SL in the gardening section. Here's a secret...the photographers come in and bring paint, their own furniture...everything. So, what you see in the pics is not real at all! I love Southern Living at Home. They have beautiful things...and that is where the glasses came from. Got them when I had a party.

Looks like my mom's strawberry shortcake (except she makes her with one BIG biscuit instead of small individual ones). Now, I'm craving that. My b-day is Saturday. Maybe I can talk her into making me one!

That was cruel! I have been doing so well with my healthy eating. Nothing has temted me too much.I swear when I saw that final picture, my stomach flipped and my salivary glands started going crazy. That looks so delicious!!!

Wait, wait...do you mean to tell me that your basket of strawberries didn't come with the official cardboard-spongecake-thingy included? My family will be shocked at this "baking" concept of which you speak. Trying it this weekend when the in-laws visit.

Let's here it for the 'mutant'!!! I just love that... I never had a name for that last gob of cookie dough, nor did I claim the rights to it... However, after reading this post the Mutants are MINE! :-P

Here's the recipe I was looking for! A few weekends ago, I wanted to make strawberry shortcake from scratch. I could've sworn the Neely's made one I wanted. Nope. So I made a Paula Deen recipe after checking PW & Notes from the Trenches, where I get a lot of recipes. Lo and behold...here it sits. Now I'll have to make it! :)

I wish you were my neighbor! You would bring just a little taste of all your wonderful food that you make and then I would decide if I wanted to go to all the work and make it for my family-or savor it all for myself and wait till my fav. neighbor made it again and brought some over to me. (sorry-that was a really long sentance) I might just have to try this one-strawberries are way cheep right now!

MMMMMM yum! I love making things like that -- they look so hard but are really so easy, right? ;)

And with the scones you just made, mix in a bit of dried cherries or raisins or chocolate chips into the dough and bake them, and they're super fantastic by themselves! (You can also make the circle and cut into about 8 pie shaped pieces to make it easier on yourself.) I think I know what I'm making this weekend!

Those look soooooooooo good. I'm going to have to give it a try. My husband will be in heaven. I love your blog, I visit here often, your on my favorites list.Congratulations on being the featered SITS blogger, your deserve it.

Hopefully you'll go back and check this comment. Your recipe post is what inspired me to make my own shortcakes/scones! They look so yummy! I don't have any whipping cream so I won't make them tonight. But I picked another 5 cups of strawberries tonight, and they need to be eaten! Can't wait!

Disney loving mom who found the best job in the whole world - helping other people to take trips to the happiest place on earth. All while being a mom and teaching classes to homeschoolers. Living a fabulous life!